"[color=6ecff6]We could have spared him...[/color]"


Jazdia paid Evan and his opinion no heed. Swiftly she moved toward Athena and had her eyes scanning the entire mansion for potential ranged counterattacks from the enemy's primary forces. The blast indeed roused the rabbles from their sleep and they all prepared themselves to meet the intruders. When she counted their number however it was indeed unspectacular.

Jazdia rubbed her pocketwatch and brought it closer. "Veronica, I saw two enemy personnel in the basement. It seemed to be Stritzel's storage area. Once you pass the door on its north, you will find a corridor and stairs leading to the second facility." 

She saw all the important individuals in the second bunker. Two thugs patrolled around the room that looked like a laboratory, the other was guarding the dungeon. In that dungeon, she found Cedar, another bear that somewhat looked familiar, and the red-haired woman wearing a white robe and eyeglasses.

Beyond that laboratory, sealed by a solid iron door, was another tunnel. It looked smaller than the bunker corridor but seemed like part of an underground complex rumored to be Stritzel's way to aid the rebels. 

Jazdia could only catch a glimpse of an underground labyrinth before fatigue set in and forced her to shorten the range of her vision back to the inner courtyard. Behind its wall, five men that she had identified before has already gathered in a combat-ready position. 

"[color=6ecff6]"Five more guards."[/color] Evan pointed at the inner wall towards the west.[color=6ecff6]"Attack them too?[/color]"


[i]"Oh, don't worry, they will come to us." [/i]

Activating her eyes to scan the manor again, Jazdia saw two men standing outside Stritzel's room, while three others were stationed on the stairs leading to the second floor. They seemed to be listening to someone she could not see, and the movement of that entity was almost unobservable, like an abstract man-sized distortion in the air. 

That entity stormed toward the front door and opened it. 

Deactivating her eyes, Jazdia saw a man walking bravely through the ruined gate. He was tall and muscular, wearing polished mail, pauldrons, and graves that emphasized his imposing figure. His eyes glinted under his deep brows as he bent his gaze upon the intruder, and then to his men, who hurriedly sprung out to the open, leaving only two on his sides. 

He took a long, deep suck on his cigar before tossing the stump down and having it squashed beneath his iron boots. 

[b][color=#FFD700]"So, Fredricus Lapdogs finally came to collect his due."[/color][/b]

Stomping his partisan to the ground, a mass of pure energy gathered on his left hand, forming a shield made of concentrated light. The wind blew his cape and his handlebar mustache as he stared at his men darkly. 

Jonas Delving, the patriarch of the Delving clan hadn't made his move, but his two bodyguards, with a simple gesture, sprung forward to follow their brethren, who was now rushing toward the group with weapons at hand.